Five Themes as Expressed Through “The Power of Place”
Harm de Blij and his “The Power of Place: Geography, Destiny, and Globalization’s Rough Landscape” truly describes how geography is displayed in the world today. In particular on of the major themes that he discusses is the idea of globalization. He actually calls these people the “globals.” In the very beginning of his book he describes two different types of peoples: Locals and Globals. The difference between these people is that Locals are the poorer people, not as mobile, and more susceptible to the concept of place. On the other hand the Globals are the fortunate population, and are a small group of people who have experienced globalization firsthand (5). This idea of globalization is a main theme that Blij refers to throughout the book, however he also indirectly references the five themes of cultural geography: culture regions, cultural diffusion, cultural interaction, cultural ecology, and cultural landscapes. Through Blij’s analysis these five themes are revealed in detail and help explain his overall idea of globalization in the world today.
One theme that is evident throughout Blij’s “Power of Place” is the concept of culture regions mainly his analysis of formal, core, and periphery areas. To introduce the idea of culture regions he mentions how the many of the world’s underdeveloped and poor nations are part of the world’s periphery. In particular, referring to Blij’s map on page 14 many of the developed countries are among the world’s core nations: Japan, Australia, United States, Canada, and Western Europe. Blij explains through his diagram that the peripheries are located in Southeast Asia, Africa, South America, and the Middle East (14). Blij des...
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...nging is through trade and migration (155). Blij makes many references to the cultural landscapes, but the most notable are that of India and Myanmar.
Blij has clearly put this book into historical significance by mentioning the idea of geography and how it plays a role in societies all over the world. However, the five themes of culture regions, cultural diffusion, cultural interaction, cultural ecology, and cultural landscapes are all clearly defined within a specific context to a particular nation. Through reading this intriguing piece of literature I received the underlying notion that Blij firmly believes that landscapes of the world realm are not going to change. De Blij worldview of regions, diffusion, interaction, ecology, and landscapes has allowed him to simultaneously link issues together from the United States all the way to Southeast Asia.
In the book The Power of Place: Geography, Destiny, and Globalization’s Rough Landscape, the author, Harm de Blij, argues that where we are born and our geography can affect who we are and what we will become. He applies his knowledge of geography and other relatable information such as health, economy, languages, and several other areas of subject. De Blij categorizes the earth into three subdivisions: locals, globals, and mobals. He defines locals as “those who are poorest, least mobile, and most susceptible to the power of place” (pg-notes). Globals are those who “whether in government, industry, business, or other decision-making capacities, flatten
Cultural globalization involves the “spread of culture beyond the region or state from which it originated.” (Davies 1). To understand what cultural globalization is, one must understand what falls under the category of culture, which includes religion, language,
This book illustrates just how essential it is to be well-educated when it comes to geography. Throughout the book, Harm de Blij brings to our attention how illiterate Americans are when it comes to geography. He brings us This is an example of absolute location not to be confused with relative location because here, de Blij uses coordinates to indicate where the capitals are located. “Now the possibility arises that further global warming, speeded up by human pollution of the atmosphere, will cause a further rise in sea levels”(134).
Creswell explores the notion of place by looking at David Harvey’s view in ‘From Space to Place and Back Again’, and comparing it to Doreen Massey’s view of place in ‘A Global Sense of Place’, 1994. These chapters were published in the 90s, an era of rapid globalization that resulted in homogenization and cultural imperialism.
Globalization, properly conceived, refers to what Scholte calls “supraterritoriality.”[1] Scholte proposes that in a globalized world, territory and borders no longer matter or, at the very least, matter far less than they did in previous, non-globalized, eras.
Rowntree les, Martin Lewis, Marie Price, and William Wyckoff. Globalization and Diversity Geography of a Changing World. 4th ed. Pearson, 2013. Print.
The variables used in this process are political, military, economic, social, information, infrastructure, physical environment and time (PMESII-PT). Evaluating these characteristics can give insight into a country’s culture and background for knowledge purposes as well as for military actions. Understanding how and why the people in different regions operate is the only way to gain the advantage and spread cultural awareness throughout the world.
Fouberg, Erin Hogan., Alexander B. Murphy, and Blij Harm Jan De. Human Geography: People, Place, and Culture. 10th ed. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley, 2012. Print.
Globalization is defined as “the historical process involving a fundamental shift or transformation in the spatial scale of human social organization that links distant communities and expands the reach of power relations across regions and continents (Baylis, 2014).”
The idea that geographical status plays no part on how cultures circulate seems farfetched. But with the growth of social media and the Internet, more and more online communities are being formed and making powerful changes. While some oppose the idea that globalization is good, there is no arguing that social media has made the idea of globalization more realistic. This type of unity is progress towards a world culture, ideally instituting equality and reducing poverty. Global connection allows countries to influence each other, the controversy is whether these influences will be beneficial or harmful
The first chapter of Bonnett’s What is Geography? explores geography through order and power. Bonnett asserts that humans have a “consistent desire to order their world.”2 This order accomplishes two things: it allows humans to find meaning in the world and helps to establish power for those that understand it. Bonnett believes that people begin to understand the world through stories, orientation, and the notion of center.3 Stories are used by people to explain the world in a way that is easy to understand. Civilizations throughout history have created their explanatory narratives to help establish order and power. However, for these stories to have any validation, there needs to be a point of reference. Bonnett goes on to explain the next two criterion for order. With orientation, people of a particular nation or group are given a starting and an end point for the world. Maps in Europe were originally made to face Jerusalem in the East to remind themselves of where their civilization came from. This, along with the ideas based on the Sun rising in the East as an analogy for the West being more evolved, created a base for the dominant thought of Eurocentrism.4 The final point for order is based on the notion of centre and peripheries. Bonnett explains t...
Looking at the high global population, there are different cultural and societal values and practices that define communities. The result is the apparent cultural diversity we witness in cities that house immigrants from various cross-border cultures. One important aspect of local culture, however, is that it is primarily based on the geography of the particular settings. Local culture are isolated groups that hardly change over time and ties to their physical environment. The routine practices of societies are responsible for the variation in the cultural beliefs of the different communities. However, the geography of the setting of the organizations plays such an integral role in supporting the practices that make societies unique. The uniqueness of the values and routine activities of the communities, to a large degree, depends on the mundane aspects of the locations that vary across the globe (Marsh and Alagona
Culture. As a society, we’re surrounded by it every day, whether we are aware of it or not. It affects what we do each day and how it lives our lives as everyone, everywhere has their own culture, their own set of beliefs and traditions that shape them, their actions, and the environment around them. Because of cultures large role in the lives of people, culture also has a large role in human geography. But there are lot of questions surrounding culture, like what exactly is culture, why are their differences in culture and what arises from those differences, and how exactly does culture interact with society to shape someone’s worldview? It is in this essay I will be answering these questions.
Geographical boundaries also play an essential role in the formation of society. A society requires a specific boundary for its
Globalisation is the exchange and movement of economic, social, cultural as well as political activity across national and international borders. Albrow and King (1990, p421) state that globalisation refers to all those processes by which the people of the world are incorporated into a single world society. Harvey, (2003), suggests that globalisation should primarily be regarded as being about the interdependence of societies on a world scale, about existing links and those that can be developed globally between individuals, communities, nations and organisations. However, globalisation can be seen as a shifting concept which has therefore meant there is no universally accep...